


Feldspar's Candlesticks

by Em_is_here



Series: Eugene Appreciation Week [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: And he gets shanked, Arrest, Blood, Candlestick. He uses a candlestick, Captain Fitzherbert, Eugene Appreciation Week, Eugene stops some teenagers from robbery, F/M, Light Angst, People get knocked out, Stabbing, Unconsciousness, Visit to the Doctor, improvised weapon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23859163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em_is_here/pseuds/Em_is_here
Summary: Eugene stops armed thieves.They use their arms. Rapunzel is not pleased.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Series: Eugene Appreciation Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719349
Comments: 6
Kudos: 70





	Feldspar's Candlesticks

**Author's Note:**

> This is like, the goriest thing I've ever posted so if I've missed something in the tags - please tell me so i can fix it. 
> 
> Eugene gets sliced up and there's a lot of blood. Just so you're aware.
> 
> So not even that gory. 
> 
> Onto the story!

Thud, thud, thud. 

Well that sounded suspicious, Eugene thought. I wonder…

He peered around the corner into the alley way and sure enough, three young men had dropped down from the roof of the building next to him with sacks. Dead end. These guys must be new. 

He stepped around the corner fully. 

“Now what would three upstanding young men like yourself be doing with those sacks? Nothing illegal I hope?”

They spun at the sound of his voice. One, probably the leader, appraised him quickly. Guard’s uniform - pristine. No armour or helmet. But a short sword attached to his belt. He then flicked his eyes over his shoulder, looking for the way out. Really new to this then. 

Returning his focus to Fitzherbert, he replied “Of course not, Boss.” His lackeys agreed with him, nodding quickly. 

“Excellent, excellent. So I’m sure you wouldn’t mind me having a look in those sacks of yours, would you.” Eugene stepped forward. They flinched backward.

“Or is there? If you have nothing to hide, just let me look through the sacks.” Another step forward.

The three exchanged glances, then the leader made a decision. 

“Of course, sir. Let me just.” He came forward with one of the sacks and opened it. Eugene had a look inside and asked again “Now how did you come to be in possession of a pair of candlesticks I know belong to Feldspar the Cobbler?”

Before he could react to the movement, a lackey came up to his side and pushed something sharp into his side. 

“Now here’s what’s going to happen, Pretty Boy. You’re going to walk us to the far side of the bridge off this stupid island. Tell anyone who questions us that we’re just merchants who got spooked by pickpockets and asked for an escort to our camp on the mainland. And I won't shank you in this pristine uniform of yours. Or, if you prefer, I can do that and leave you down this alley to die. Your choice.”

“Yeah. About that. I don’t think you quite understand what’s going on here. You’re going to put down your little knife, we’re going to return those stolen goods then you three can spend a few days in the dungeon to think about where you went wrong. Or you can fight me on this and have a much more serious crime than petty theft on your roster. Your choice.”

Eugene had used this time to sneak his hand over to the pommel of his sword and loosen it slightly. 

“Ha. No. I like my plan better.”

Eugene pulled his sword out, sharply. Knocking away the boy holding the knife to his side and throwing him against the wall of the narrow alley. The other two backed up a couple steps and the boy on the floor stayed down, groaning. 

Then the other two pulled out their own knives and started shifting their weight between legs. Eugene advanced, picking up one of Feldspar’s candlesticks from the sack where it had been abandoned. Not quite a frying pan but close enough that he could use it like one. His sword in his right hand, candlestick in his left he moved further forward, pushing the boys closer into the wall on the far end. 

“Just give up boys, those goods aren’t worth this.”

“Oh? And why is fighting you such a serious crime, huh?”

“Mon Amie. My name is Captain Eugene Fitzherbert, of the Royal Guard. Prince Consort to Queen Rapunzel of Corona. Formerly known as the thief, Flynn Rider. Ringing any bells yet?”

The other lackey had lowered his weapon at that particular list of titles. 

“What are you doing?” The leader hissed through his teeth. 

“He’s a member of the royal family! If we attack him, he can have us hanged!”

“As much as I’m enjoying the two of you acting like snakes, could we perhaps wrap this up?”

The leader glanced between his friends and made a show of thinking. 

“Ok. All Right. You win. Just let us go, we’ll leave the stuff.”

“No, all three of you are going to spend the night in a cell. But after that, you may go.”

The main boy nodded his head, then ran for it, slicing his knife through Eugene’s side as he went, slipping past him and out of the alley.  
Eugene immediately went to the alley entrance, pressing his hand against the wound, managing to signal some of his men, attracted to the noise in the alley, to go after the runaway, then turned to see the other two trying to slip out as well.

“No. You’re not going anywhere. If your friend is caught, he attacked me, and the case could be made for attempted murder. You really don’t want to get caught up in that when he’s taken in front of my wife for judgement.”

He signalled to some more passing guards to arrest the two boys and put them in the cell, making sure to mention the first’s possible injury and gave orders to have him seen by the doctor.

Then Pete saw the blood on his uniform jacket and went to touch his hand.

“Sir? Are you wounded? What happened?”

It was then that the adrenaline from his encounter finally wore off and Eugene collapsed onto Pete, who caught him and lowered him to the cobbles as gently as possibly. 

“I need a stretcher over here!”

Someone ran over with some poles and a blanket and the last Eugene heard was instructions to keep pressure on his side.

The day started off like any other. She and Eugene had a leisurely morning and ate breakfast with her mother and their children. 

Then she held court for a while with Eugene standing beside her throne before he went off to find a birthday present for their youngest in the city. 

Then a guard ran up to her, saying that her husband had arrested two young thieves in the city. Then when she turned around to see him being carried in on a stretcher.

Oh god. There was so much blood. 

“Eugene? Eugene!” She ran over to her husband. “What happened? What happened to him?” She demanded of the guards carrying him while following them to the palace infirmary.

“He was attacked by the thieves. We have two of them but the third, the one who hurt him ran. We have men on it now.”

Rapunzel nodded then turned her attention back to the man in the stretcher. She took over pressing on his wound with a cloth but the blood was slowly seeping through. She now had her husband’s blood on her hands.

“Mama? What’s wrong?”

“Adelaide. Adelaide I need you to go. Now. Faith, take her away.” Looking to the lady-in-waiting frozen in shock behind her eldest child. Who was coming closer.

“Mama, who’s hurt?” The girl had recognised a stretcher.

“Adelaide. You really don’t want to see this.” She raised her voice, “Faith, take her away. NOW!”

Faith finally snapped out of her stupor and rushed forward and grabbed her charge, but not before she saw who her mother was fussing over.

“Daddy?! What’s wrong with daddy?”

“Daddy’s going to be fine honey. I promise.” Faith held Rapunzel’s heir back while the rest of them continued down the corridor. Nobody else heard the small “he has to be,” she added to that statement.

The guard at the front threw open the door to the physician’s chambers and started yelling, bringing the attention of a middle aged man in a white uniform. 

He took one look at Eugene and the blood drained from his face. 

“In here. Quickly.”

He cleared his table and they laid down their captain still on top of what was now a bloody blanket.

“Out. All of you. Your Majesty, i need you to remove your hand.” 

The guards were ushered out by the physician’s apprentice while Rapunzel gingerly removed the cloth from Eugene’s side. 

“Good the bleeding has stopped. John, water, alcohol, honey and the needle and thread.” He turned back to Rapunzel. “I need to clean the wound, then stop any infection then sew up the wound.” He started cutting away Eugene’s uniform around the wound. 

“Dear lord. That’s deep.”

When John returned with the items he had been asked for, Rapunzel got ushered out of the room as well. She was in their way and would be called back in when they were finished. 

She sank onto the floor and put her head in between her thighs.

She had never been a religious person, the concept of God never having been introduced to her as a child, but she prayed now. To anyone who was listening. 

Eugene had never been in so much pain. He found that opening his eyes was going to take too much effort, so didn’t bother and instead just listened to the room around him. Rapunzel was sleeping next to him. He had spent too much time listening to her sleep to not recognise it. And there were low murmuring sounds coming from above his head. 

“He’s lucky he didn’t bleed to death in the corridors.”

“Why wasn’t he wearing any armour?”

“He hates the stuff. Says that he can get by without it just fine.”

“Does she know about that?”

“I get the feeling he’s going to be forbidden from leaving the castle without wearing it now.”

Eugene managed a small “What happened?”

“Oh. You’re awake, then. You’re one lucky bastard, you know that.”

Pete was the one who actually answered his question. “You were sliced open by one of those thieves you caught, remember.” Eugene grunted. “Anyway, we caught the third one, the one that actually sliced you up. He’s currently waiting for her majesty’s judgement.” 

He heard Rapunzel stir. “Sunshine?”

Now she was awake. “Eugene! You’re awake!” He could feel her prepare to jump him but then realise that would probably hurt him more. He cracked open his eyes.

“Did i ever tell you i have a thing for brunettes?” 

She nudged his arm. “You went and got yourself hurt. Again. Almost the exact same place. I was almost scared I was going to turn around and see Gothel standing behind me.” She pressed their foreheads together. “You’ve got to stop getting yourself into these situations.”

“Uh huh?”

“Well you’re going to start wearing armour for one.”

He groaned.

“Adeleide saw you. She saw me pressing a cloth into your side.”

“Oh shit. Where is she.”

“In her room, asleep.”

The physician piped up. “She got free of Faith and ran down here and demanded to see you. She was crying so hard I thought she’d create a puddle of tears. I gave her some sleeping medicine to keep her away.”

Eugene turned his head to his wife. “Send for her? She’s going to be like that till she sees I’m ok. Did any of the others see?”

“No,” she turned to John and smiled and he ran out of the room. “But they’ll all be here lickety split.What possessed you, going after three armed criminals by yourself without armour?”

“They were kids, Blondie. I didn’t think they were armed until one of them was holding a knife to my side. Have you decided what to do with them yet?”

“Well the two who didn’t almost kill you will stay in the cells for a month or so, as is custom. Then we’ll call in Lance, Angry and Catalina and find out what exactly was going on there.”

Eugene nodded. “And the third boy.”

“I haven’t decided yet. His list of crimes is much longer. Petty theft, armed robbery, resisting arrest, attacking a member of the guard, attempted murder, attacking a royal, aggravated assault. I was waiting to hear what you had to say.”

“Let the boy defend himself in front of you. But you’ll know what to do. You always do.”

The pattering of child sized footsteps came through the door.

“I’ll go meet them.” Rapunzel kissed his cheek. “Be back in a minute.”

She got up from her place on the bed and slipped through the door to meet their children. Eugene levered himself up, the doctor helping him settle himself against the wall.

He could hear his wife calming their children on the other side of the door, then the door creaking open and four small heads poking around it.

“Come in sweethearts. I’m fine.” He assured them, beckoning them. Emilia, their youngest at two, climbed straight onto the bed with him, cuddling into his side. That girl was exactly as he imagined Rapunzel was when she was younger. Klaus was not far behind. But being four, and therefore all grown up he sat at the end of the bed. 

Fred wandered over to sit on the edge of the bed. Adelaide, unlike her twin, stayed by her mother. 

“I’m sorry you had to see that Addie. I truly am.” He held out his hand to her. “But I’m here. And I will be ok. I promise.”

The look she gave him felt like it came from someone far older than six. “Come here sweetheart. Come make sure I’m alright.”

She was timid walking forward, creeping as silently as a mouse. Taking his hand slowly. Reassured when she felt his warmth she came closer. Her hand ghosted over the bandages that had been wrapped around his stomach. 

“You’re not bleeding anymore.”

“No sunshine. I’m not.”

She dove into his good side, and he held her to him. He kissed the top of her head. 

Then he looked up at Rapunzel. Finally assured that her daughter wasn’t going to spontaneously explode, she was beginning to break down. 

“Fred?”

“Yes Papa?”

“Go hug your mother? And then bring her here.” Eugene whispered into his ear

He immediately went and wrapped his arms around her hips before dragging her by the hand to the rest of the family. 

She sat down next to her husband, in the same position with Emilia on his bad side, Addie in between them, Fred on her lap and Klaus by their feet.

“I was pretty sure you needed reminding that I was ok as well.”

Rapunzel pursed her lips before sighing and leaning her head on his shoulder. 

“How do you know me so well?

“Over a decade of practice, Blondie.”

They sat there for half an hour, Eugene telling stories when a knock came on the door.

The third boy is awaiting your judgement, your Majesty.

Rapunzel sighed before transferring Fred onto the bed.

“Want to come?”

“Not really. I’ll stay here with the kids till you come back. Don’t be too harsh on him. He was a scared teenager.”

“I’ll try to see that through the boy who tried to kill my new dream.”

“You’ll manage. Now go do your job.”

She kissed him briefly then got to work.

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Eugene appreciation week, as set by my friend (@fishskiin on Tumblr) and the rest of the Fitzfam. They've been collecting all of the contributions, but today the prompt was Captain.


End file.
